Certification Program Goals

The JAWS and MAGic Certification Programs are online knowledge-based exams for consultants, trainers, agency staff, and JAWS and MAGic users. The purpose is to:

Help JAWS and MAGic trainers and consultants validate their understanding of the software for companies, agencies, and consumers

Increase people's general knowledge of JAWS and MAGic software

Expand skills and abilities into new product features

Present a comprehensive look at all of the free training resources provided online and within JAWS and MAGic

Enhance exposure for certified individuals by listing them on the Freedom Scientific website

Expected Capabilities after Successful Completion

Product installation and setup, including

Installation software for JAWS or MAGic

Training materials

Synthesizers

Braille displays (for JAWS)

Thorough understanding of location and availability of training materials and resources, including

DAISY, MP3, HTML, and help files

Archives of free webinars

Product knowledge, including

Basic to advanced product skills

JAWS keystrokes for both laptop and desktop layout

How to identify and use key combinations for MAGic functions

Exam Categories

The JAWS and MAGic certification exams cover a wide range of product knowledge. They are not limited to just using the product, but enhancing your knowledge, from installation procedures to where to look when you need to access product information.

JAWS Exam Categories

The JAWS certification exam contains a variety of questions from the following seven categories:

JAWS Features — includes in-depth questions on JAWS features and using Braille with JAWS

Headquarters — includes what is available on our web resource pages, along with questions on contacting Technical Support and basic troubleshooting

Installation — includes all aspects of both typical and custom installation and activation of JAWS

Speech — this category covers speech topics including Speech On Demand™, voice profiles, available synthesizers, and other speech settings

Keyboard Knowledge — includes questions on specific keyboard commands that allow users to use a key combination to carry out MAGic functions rather than navigating to the user interface and activating a control there

HTML — includes questions on all aspects of navigating, reading, and customizing HTML pages

Add-Ons — includes questions on tools that can be used in conjunction with MAGic, such as the MAGic Large Print Keyboard, TypeAbility, and Say MAGic. It also includes questions about utilizing MAGic’s remote access functionality

Compatibility — includes questions pertaining to using MAGic functionality when working together with other Freedom Scientific products

Help — includes what is available on our web resource pages, MAGic Headquarters, and Freedom Scientific's Training resources, as well as questions about basic troubleshooting and contacting Technical Support

Do you want to share a success story involving your JAWS or MAGic Certification? We would love to hear from you. Submit your comments.

Cost for Certification

The cost for initial certification for each product is $99 with a $39 annual renewal fee.

There is no cost to study the materials and take the exam. Once you complete the exam with a passing score, you will be given the opportunity to purchase an official certificate from Freedom Scientific. The initial certification is $99 for each product, with a $39 renewal fee if you choose to update your certification later. To qualify for the $39 renewal fee, you must retake the exam and earn a passing score.

Organizations may pre-purchase certifications in blocks of five for $299. In this case, members of your organization will enter a code when they pass the exam to receive their certificates.

Exam Resources

The study materials are all available in the current version of JAWS and MAGic and on the Freedom Scientific website. If you have a current version of JAWS or MAGic and a connection to the Internet, then you already have what you need to study for both exams. No additional study materials are required. The exam questions are based on guides, help topics, DAISY training materials, and web resources.

The study time for each exam is approximately 10 hours. That time is based on listening to all basic training material and suggested DAISY books, reading the guides and websites, and studying the exact JAWS or MAGic help topics. Study time will vary with your experience, and you may need to concentrate on some areas more than others. It is recommended that you take your time and become familiar with all the study materials before you take the exam.

As you read the study materials, occasionally an aspect of certain features will describe how a user would perform the same function if they were using MAGic and JAWS together, or sometimes MAGic and OpenBook together. As part of your product certification, you must consider how these products work together so you can support and share your knowledge in your professional setting. Your exam may contain questions in these areas.

Resources for JAWS

JAWS Tandem Quick Start Guide — available from within the JAWS program window. Open the Utilities menu, open the JAWS Tandem submenu, and then open the Quick Start Guide.

JAWS Quick Start Guide — available from within the JAWS program group located in your Start Menu. Open the JAWS program group, open Explore JAWS submenu, then open Explore the Manuals submenu. This folder contains the JAWS Quick Start Guide.

JAWS Basic Training Materials — the books are in DAISY format and can be reviewed using FSReader. The basic training materials are a collection of nine books. The total listening time is approximately 5 hours and 45 minutes. If your copy of JAWS is the downloaded version, you may not have the basic training materials. To download these and other training materials, visit the Freedom Scientific Training Downloads page.

Select the DAISY books from the list.

Select Install to begin the download.

DAISY Books — the books are available to review using FSReader. FSReader can be opened from within the JAWS program window. Open the Help menu and press ENTER on the Training menu item and FSReader opens. If these books are not installed in your FSReader you may download them from the Freedom Scientific Training Downloads page.

Web Resources — available from within the JAWS program window. Open the Help menu, then open the Web Resources submenu. It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the choices in the Web Resources submenu. Spend additional time focusing on JAWS Headquarters, Technical Support pages, Training and Certification pages, and Surfing the Internet.

JAWS Help — JAWS Help topics are found in JAWS F1 Help. It is recommended that you become familiar with the JAWS Help topics. Open JAWS Help by pressing F1 from within the JAWS program window. To quickly find a topic, move to the Search tab, and type the topic name in the search field.

Resources for MAGic

MAGic Quick Start Guide — available from within the MAGic program group located in your Start Menu. Open the MAGic program group, open Explore MAGic submenu, then open Explore the Manuals submenu. This folder contains the MAGic Quick Start Guide.

MAGic Basic Training Materials — the books are in DAISY format and can be reviewed using FSReader. The basic training materials are a collection of 10 books. The total listening time is a little over 5 hours. If your copy of MAGic is the downloaded version, you may not have the basic training materials. To download these and other training materials, visit the Freedom Scientific Training Downloads page.

Select the DAISY books from the list.

Select Install to begin the download.

DAISY Books — the books are available to review using FSReader. FSReader can be opened from within the MAGic program window. Open the Help menu and press ENTER on the Training menu item and FSReader opens. If these books are not installed in your FSReader you may download them from the Freedom Scientific Training Downloads page.

Web Resources — available from within the MAGic program window. Open MAGic's main menu, then open the Web Resources submenu. It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the choices in the Web Resources submenu. Spend additional time focusing on MAGic Headquarters, Technical Support Headquarters, Training Headquarters, and Surfing the Internet.

MAGic Help — MAGic Help topics are found in MAGic F1 Help. It is recommended that you become familiar with the MAGic Help topics. Open MAGic Help by pressing F1 from within the MAGic program window. To quickly find a topic, move to the Search tab, and type the topic name in the search field.

Taking the Exam

When you are confident that you have spent adequate time covering all study materials, it is time to take the exam. Be prepared to set aside 60 minutes without interruptions to take the exam. Please note — you will not be able to stop the clock on the exam once you begin.

A web page link will take you to the exam log-on page.

You must complete your full name and email address in the edit fields, select your country, and then press TAB to move to the Start Test button. Your exam page will load, followed by a dialog notifying you that you have 60 minutes to complete your exam. Press the OK button and begin.

Exam Navigation

The exam is a web page, so standard JAWS and MAGic navigation keys in HTML documents apply. For JAWS, pressing P to move by paragraph moves you between the questions and possible answers. For MAGic, first press INSERT+Z to turn on Quick Letter Navigation. With Quick Letter Navigation turned on, pressing P to move by paragraph moves you between the questions and possible answers.

During the Exam

At the mid-point of the exam, a dialog will appear to alert you that you are at the halfway point in the exam. You have 30 more minutes from that point. Press the OK button and continue your exam.

The time remaining may show on the status bar in Internet Explorer, depending on your security settings. You can read this by pressing INSERT+PAGE DOWN at any time during the exam.

If you are using JAWS to take the exam, you can also use the virtual cursor to read the time even if it is not visible on the status bar. Do this by pressing CTRL+END to move to the bottom of the exam page. Before you move from where you are, you can set a temporary PlaceMarker on the question to easily move back to your spot in the exam. Press CTRL+WINDOWS Key+K to set the temporary PlaceMarker or move it to another spot later in the exam. Press K to move back to your spot after checking the time.

At the end of each question a Resource for that exam question will be noted. It will appear like this: (Resource: MAGic Help). This is a reference for you.

Submitting Your Exam

When you complete the test, press the Submit Exam Now button at the end of the web page. Please note — if you do not press the Submit Exam Now button, your exam results will not be recorded. When the Submit Exam Now button is pressed and there are unanswered questions, the exam displays the message, "You have left some questions unanswered. Press OK to submit your test now, or Cancel to move to the next unanswered question." Choose the Cancel button to move to the first unanswered question and continue from there. If you choose the Submit Exam Now button again and there are other unanswered questions, you get a chance to move to the next unanswered question. When you move to the unanswered question, focus is on the first control, i.e., radio button or check box, so just press UP ARROW to read the question.

If you do not finish the exam in the allotted time, a dialog appears at the end of 60 minutes and tells you your time is up. Press OK on the dialog button. Your exam will be submitted automatically.

When you submit your exam, the exam page will close and you will be taken to another web page with your results. From there, you can read your final score percentage and review your scores in each of the different categories.

Certification Logos

When you pass the Certification exam and purchase an official JAWS or MAGic Certificate, you are entitled to be listed on our Certified Individuals page. Additionally, you are granted the right to use the new JAWS or MAGic Certification Logo in your correspondence, email signature, or website.

FAQs

What if I accidentally close my browser while taking the exam?

If your Internet browser closes, or if you have an equipment failure that interrupts your timed exam session, the portion of the exam you took will not be saved. You will have to start the exam again from the beginning.

Is it okay to guess if I am not sure of an answer?

Yes. If you do not record an answer for an exam question, then that question will be marked incorrect. If you are not sure, you may try eliminating the choices that you know are wrong. You are then left with choices that could be correct. From the remaining choices, select the choice that you think is the best answer.

What if I am in the middle of answering a question and the 60 minutes are up, can I finish the question I was working on?

No. When the 60 minutes have elapsed, the focus shifts from the exam question you were working on to a dialog telling you your time is up. You will not be able to go back and finish. Please note - make sure you follow the instructions from that point so that your exam results will be saved.

Do I get a reminder of how much time has elapsed?

At the halfway point, a dialog will appear letting you know that you have 30 minutes remaining in your exam. The time remaining may show on the status bar in Internet Explorer, depending on your security settings. You can read this by pressing INSERT+PAGE DOWN at any time during the exam.

Are there any short answer or essay questions?

No. Exam questions are formatted as multiple choices, true or false, and check all that apply.

Can I go back and change my answers?

During the 60 minutes you can go back and change or review your answers. It is recommended that you go back and review your exam if you finish before the time expires, to ensure that you are satisfied with the choices you made.

How do I view my results?

Your results are available as soon as you submit your exam. After you submit your results, a web page opens with the results page. You will be given an overall score and shown how you scored in each of the categories.

How do I submit my exam?

When you are ready to submit your exam, you must press the Submit button at the end of the exam web page. Please note - if you do not press the Submit button, your exam results will not be saved.

At the end of each exam question there is a resource. What does that mean?

The resource tells you which study materials that exam question was taken from. For example, a resource could be listed like this: (Resource: MAGic Help). This reference tells you that the exam question was taken from one of the MAGic F1 Help topics.

The exam is 80 questions, but my overall score showed that I had 118 correct out of 147. Why is the number higher than 80?

There are 80 questions. The questions are a random selection of multiple choices, true or false, or check all that apply. The "check all that apply" questions are worth more points. Each correct check box is a point. For example, assume you had one "check all that apply" question in your exam and that question had five check boxes. That exam would be scored out of 84 not 80. Note that the exam will have more than one "check all that apply" question.

How many times can I take the exam?

You may take the exam as many times as you wish.

What other Freedom Scientific products will I be tested on?

Your exam may contain a few questions on using JAWS and MAGic together, or using MAGic together with OpenBook.